Stuff those pumpkin blossoms for a gourmet treat!

Don’t let those male flowers shrivel up before you have a chance to convert them into a gourmet treat!

The farmers market had beautiful, huge squash blossoms for sale but they were $4 each – so I passed. That same day I took a walk to my community garden bed and saw that my pumpkins had taken off and there were tons of male blossoms open. I already had several baby pumpkin fruits started on the female blossoms (thank you bees) and it was a no-brainer to pick them and make stuffed pumpkin blossoms.

5 Tips for Success:

After the female flowers develop small fruits, pick the male blossoms in the morning while still open. Male flowers have one stubby stamen. Bees help pollinate the female flowers by bringing pollen from the male flowers to the female stigma. You can also pollinate by hand!

Wash gently inside and out under cool water. Soaking in a big bowl of water may damage the delicate blossoms if kept wet for too long. Use that method with caution.